BRIGHTON, Colo. — The Brighton Police Department (BPD) took two people in custody Tuesday after reports of a person with a handgun in the parking lot of Prairie View High School.
No shots were fired outside the school and there was no threat to students, said John Bradley, spokesperson for Brighton Police.
Police responded to the school at 12909 E. 120th Ave. in Henderson, about 1:30 p.m., but the male with the gun left in a vehicle as police arrived, according to BPD.
Police stopped the vehicle nearby, at 119th Avenue and Peoria Street, and took two males into custody.
Bradley said it was not clear whether the males are adults or juveniles. The suspects' identities were not being released Tuesday afternoon.
Prairie View High School was briefly placed on lockdown, which was later changed to a lockout. Police cleared the high school from the lockdown room by room, according to 27J Schools.
Officers were still at the school at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Prairie View Middle School and Henderson and Thimmig elementary schools were also briefly placed on lockouts. The middle school shares a campus with Prairie View High School, and the elementary schools are about a mile away.
This story is developing and will be updated when more information becomes available.
Lockout v. Lockdown
A lockout and lockdown are different and have different implications for students and parents.
Lockout
A lockout takes place when there is a safety concern that is not an immediate threat to a school. For example, the police may be pursuing a vehicle in the neighborhood around a school, and the school’s safety department determines that the school should enact a lockout as a precautionary measure.
In lockouts, students and staff remain inside the school building, and school activities continue as normal, with students and staff moving securely within the school. A lockout means no one comes in or goes out of the building. Students and staff are unlikely to notice a difference unless the lockout occurs near a transition time.
Lockdown
A lockdown takes place when there is a safety concern regarding a potential threat to a school. A lockdown will also be enacted if there is a perceived threat within the school.
In a lockdown, students and staff are secured in the school, staff does not communicate and parents are not allowed on-site. Lockdowns are generally enacted when there is a serious threat.
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